NHI-IndigoAfrica-NHFBS is Leading the Challenge to ‘Digify’ our Internally Displaced Persons

NHI-IndigoAfrica-NHFBS is Leading the Challenge to ‘Digify’ our Internally Displaced Persons

Hunger, in all its understanding, is a systemic issue that is being further uncovered due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the UNSDGs’ ongoing food systems dialogue. No Hunger Initiatives (NHI), an African-based NGO, deploys food banking approach to drive its mission of a hunger-free future. In order to pursue this vision, NHI, in collaboration with Indigo Africa, and their United States based partner – No Hunger Food Bank and Systems (NHFBS) has jointly trained 30 internally displaced persons (IDPs) through its Empowerment, Awareness and Training (EAT) programme. EAT aims to ensure vulnerable families possess the awareness, and knowledge needed for their journey out of poverty and hunger.

The NHI-IndigoAfrica-NHFBS ‘Digified IDP’ training (I) is aimed at enabling the IDPs to become self-reliant and to tackle drivers of hunger, such as poverty, illiteracy, joblessness, poor access to healthcare, and homelessness.

While addressing the IDPs on Friday –the NHI No Hunger Food Bank Chief Strategist, Gbadebo Odularu, said this maiden training is the first in the series of NHI-IndigoAfrica-NHFBS ‘Digified IDP’ project, as a digital literacy intervention which seeks to bridge the yawning digital divide among families in our communities. The NHI-IndigoAfrica-NHFBS Leadership realized that it has been communally unsustainable to solely provide food items to the economically disadvantaged. Rather, our communities will benefit more when we empower and invest in children, women, and youth to think digitally towards overcoming the challenges facing them in all facets of life.

“We are here to empower our young adults through the digital literacy project and prepare them for the future of work. We are here to let them know that they can enhance their livelihoods through specific digital training while leveraging their God-given talents and skills.

“Our core mission is to eradicate hunger, and we can only do that if our communities have the necessary tools and knowledge to lift them out of poverty.

Also speaking, Mr. Luka Yathuma, Secretary of the Kwachingoro IDP camp, expressed appreciation to NHI-IndigoAfrica-NHFBS Management for this great initiative. “We are very grateful to No Hunger Initiatives (NHI). Our people have suffered but we thank NHI for always coming to our aid with food and other essential items.

“We are grateful to NHI for this training, my people would have used their meagre monetary resources to receive the training but now, NHI is offering it to us free. Thank you, thank you, thank you!’

30 internally displaced persons attended the ‘Digified IDP’ training, comprising 20 young women and 10 young men. We are excited that 67 percent of the trainees are young women. From gender perspective, this gendered result will further inform NHI’s EAT program towards Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) related initiatives like ‘girls-and-boys-who-code’.